WW2 Italian Soldier Prayer Book Mussolini M Fascist Dio Patria Famiglia RSI For Sale

ORIGINAL FASCIST-ERA ITALIAN SOLDIER\'S PRAYER BOOK
DIO – PATRIA – FAMIGLIALE PREGHIERE DEL SOLDATO ITALIANO
A fascinating original Italian military religious booklet produced during the Fascist period for the spiritual use of Italian servicemen.
The title translates approximately as:
“GOD – FATHERLAND – FAMILYTHE PRAYERS OF THE ITALIAN SOLDIER”
The cover identifies the issuing organization as:
OPERA DELLA REGALITÀ DI N.S.G.C.Via Ludovico Necchi 2MilanoFASCIST-ERA MILITARY CONTENT
This is particularly interesting because it combines Catholic devotion with the language of military duty and the Italian Fascist state.
The back cover exhorts the Italian soldier to remain faithful to Jesus Christ, the Pope and Catholic Church, and then states:
“SII FEDELEAL RE IMPERATOREAL DUCE EDALLA PATRIA”
In English:
“BE FAITHFULTO THE KING-EMPEROR,TO THE DUCE,AND TO THE FATHERLAND.”
The reference to Italy\'s “Re Imperatore” places this wording within the Fascist imperial period following the conquest of Ethiopia in 1936.
“Il Duce,” of course, refers to Benito Mussolini.ANGELO BARTOLOMASI
The back cover bears the name:
ANGELO BARTOLOMASIORDINARIO MILITARE
Archbishop Angelo Bartolomasi was appointed Military Ordinary of Italy in 1929 and was an important figure in the religious administration of the Italian Armed Forces during the Fascist period.WRITTEN SPECIFICALLY FOR THE ITALIAN SOLDIER
The opening pages make the intended audience unmistakable.
One page is headed:
PREGHIERA DEL SOLDATO(Prayer of the Soldier)
The facing introductory message begins:
“Caro Soldato d’Italia”
— “Dear Soldier of Italy.”
The introduction explains that the booklet is being sent to the soldier by his mother, wife or another member of his family.
The writer further explains that he himself had been a combatant in the war of 1915–18 and understood from personal experience what prayer could mean to a soldier.CONTENTS
The surviving pages contain numerous Catholic prayers and devotional instructions specifically directed toward servicemen.
Subjects visible in the booklet include:
• Prayer of the Soldier• Duties toward God• Duties toward one\'s neighbor• Duties toward oneself• Examination of conscience• Confession• Communion• Christian conduct• Loyalty to family and country• Military duty
The opening Soldier\'s Prayer asks God to keep the soldier faithful in his duties as both a Christian and a soldier and invokes the protection of the Virgin Mary, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Catherine of Siena.A VERY INTERESTING PIECE OF ITALIAN MILITARY HISTORY
This small booklet documents an unusual intersection of:
Italian military lifeCatholic religious practiceFascist ItalyMussolini / Il DuceThe Italian monarchyItalian nationalismMilitary chaplaincyWWII-era devotional material
It is especially interesting because the political language appears directly on the original booklet rather than being a later historical attribution.SCARCITY
I located institutional and historical references to this exact title, confirming that surviving examples are held in Italian archival collections.
I also located an older specialist bookseller catalog that documented a 32-page example of “Dio – Patria – Famiglia: Le preghiere del soldato italiano.”
However, I did not locate another exact example currently indexed for sale on or a reliable recent exact sold-price record.
For that reason I consider the exact booklet SCARCE in the present searchable collector market, although I would not describe it as genuinely rare.
A compelling original piece for a collection of Italian WWII militaria, Fascist-era ephemera, military religious material, Catholic military history or European wartime paper.
Carefully researched and offered by Echoes of WWII.